European Economics Preview: Spanish Debt Auction In Focus

4/19/2012 2:13 AM ET

Spanish debt auction is set to dominate the European economic news on Thursday amid widespread concerns that the country may be forced to seek an international bailout after its borrowing costs surged close to levels widely seen as unsustainable at an auction on April 11.

At 3 am ET, the Hungarian Central Statistics office is expected to release the data on average gross wages for the month of February. Economists expects an annual increase of 6 percent.

At 4.30 am ET, Spain is set to auction around EUR 2.5 billion in two and 10-year bonds. The yield on benchmark 10-year bond rose to above 6 percent on April 11, but fell back on Tuesday.

France is scheduled to auction securities including 2017 notes and 2018 inflation-linked debt for a maximum target of EUR 11 billion at around 4.50 am ET and 5.50 am ET. Markets are also keen on France as it comes just days ahead of the first round of Presidential elections on Sunday.

Industrial production and producer price index from Poland is expected at 8 am ET. Production is forecast to rise 4.4 percent annually in March, while producer price inflation is seen moderating to 4.8 percent.

Flash consumer sentiment from Eurozone is slated for release at 10 am ET. The confidence index is expected to stay almost steady at -19. Consumer confidence index rose to -19.1 in March from -20.3 in the previous month.

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